Sea Lions are massive creatures. I took this photo of a boy who spent several minutes just staring through his cupped hands (presumably to eliminate the glare reflecting off the aquarium glass) just watching sea lions swim past at the Sea Life Center in Seward, Alaska.

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

I took this picture in January of 2005 at around 11pm at night with the sole illumination from a fairly bright moon. Even with the moon out, it was quite dark, and I couldn't really see Half Dome through my viewfinder. I ended up taking a couple shots and adjusting until it was framed okay. I was actually using the digital camera to act as a virtual light meter for my film camera. On film, I was shooting Velvia 50 and had the lens stopped down to f/11 or f/16 and taking 8 to 15 minute exposures. To calculate how many minutes I'd need, I took several test shots with the digital (of which this was one) and calculated the approximate shutter speed I'd need on my film.

Tripod, 63 sec at f/3.5 on ISO 800, 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens

Can a large bridge looming over an inlet be a picturesque place to have dinner? It turns out it can. Sharon's By The Sea is a pleasant place to dine in Noyo, California. (The food could have been better prepared when I last visited in 2007, though.) The bridge for Highway 1 crosses over the Noyo river as it enters the Pacific Ocean right over Noyo Harbor where Sharon's is located. At first I thought it was rather odd for such a nice view to be dominated by such a massive concrete structure. Then after settling in, I got over the initial feelings of oppressiveness and began to find the bridge added character to the view. Sometimes what I want in a view is to be completely isolated in nature, but there are other times when I find it interesting, even comforting, to be surrounded by reminders that I'm grounded in civilization.

Handheld, 1/60 sec at f/11 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Dale Chihuly is an extraordinary glass designer. His works can be seen in various locations from the Bellagio in Las Vegas to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to the Rockefeller Center in New York City. Recently, the de Young Museum in San Francisco had a large exhibition of Chihuly's works. Photography was difficult since photographic support (tripods and monopods included) wasn't allowed into the exhibit. I did the best I could and took a lot of pictures of Chihuly's work. This example is of what he calls a Macchia - which as far as I can tell is a bowl within a bowl.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 400 (exposure digitally adjusted +2 stops), 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Food related street fairs (like the Asparagus Festival, Artichoke Festival, and Campbell Oktoberfest [where this picture was taken]) are a lot of fun. It's a great excuse to eat overpriced but fun foods prepared at the fair - usually sausages, corn dogs, chicken on a stick, corn, and hamburgers. I took this picture of a flare up next to a fresh hamburger patty with smoking patties in the background.

Handheld, 1/1600 sec. at f/5.0 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

These doors (at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas) caught my eye. The heavy wood planks braced by iron beams with light from the other side seeping through the cracks made this door interesting to my eye. Sometimes I take pictures because of the textures in the subject. I'm particularly drawn by the knots and grain of the wood surrounded by the rough stone.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/3.5 on ISO 200, 50mm f/1.8 lens

While hanging out at my friend Mark's vineyard, Camalie Vineyards, Tina and I went for a walk through the vines. The Cabernet Sauvignon had all been picked, but there were still several vines of Carménère yet to be picked. That's when I took this picture of the ultra-sweet grapes.

Handheld, 1/125 sec at f/3.2 on ISO 800, 105mm macro lens

While looking through my photo collection, I came across this one of an empty bowl. The photo was taken at Aqua in San Francisco. The dish? I don't remember - I wrote it down (on my phone) so I wouldn't have to remember and I had to do a phone reset and lost a bunch of my notes. It was a soup of some sort involving (I think) a vadouvan, pumpkin seeds, and lobster meat. It tasted amazing - which can be attested to by the cleanliness of the bowl.

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.2 on ISO 400, 28mm f/1.8 lens

I am a big fan of charcuterie of all sorts. You give me a piece of lardo, headcheese, or plain old salami, and you'll get a smile out of me - no problem. I especially like the dry texture, salty meatiness, and springy chew of a piece of coppa. Man, I'm salivating right now…

Handheld, 1/250 sec at f/3.2 on ISO 800, 105mm f/2.8 macro lens

If I've got my camera in my hand and there are flowers around, there's a good chance that I start taking pictures of them. I don't know why I do it… maybe I think they're pretty. I never know what to do with the flower pictures afterward - especially since they end up as part of a larger set of photographs that are completely unrelated. Here's a photo of an iris - the context of which I found it in my library? The 2005 Castroville Artichoke Festival. My guess is that there was a farmer's market there and one of the booths sold flowers and while looking for another photo opportunity, I took this picture - because it was there.

Handheld, 1/500 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 with 2x teleconverter